Fun location for younger couple with urban/nightlife? (Portland, Eugene: school, university)

[solsine]

Hi, my boyfriend and i are looking at a relocation to somewhere in West Oregon. We have lived in the Midwest, Boston area, and currently in Phoenix, AZ. Looking for some GREEN scenery and to sink our toes into some lush grass! However, we would also still like a nightlife of some kind, nothing crazy but also not a community that rolls up its streets at 8 pm.

Our primary objectives are:
Moderate climate (prefer sunny and warm, little to no snow)
Friendly people, with a sense of area community
Wide age range (not all college students, not all retirees)
Interesting lifestyle and architecture - prefer artsy / character over strip-malls and chain stores
Some nice / classy bars & restaurants, maybe a nice local music scene
Good library and/or bookstores

Ideally we would probably want to live in a slightly outlying area that offers afforable living, but within 20 min drive of all the above. Not opposed to living on or near the coast. Not interested in overly rich/snooty areas - probably a mid-sized town with a university would fit the bill.

We don't have kids and don't plan to, so school systems don't matter. We also both work from home, so industry/employment rates are not a factor, either.

We plan to narrow down to a small list via online research, then plan a visit for the final decision. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Silverfall]

Eugene sounds like it would be a good fit with the exception of sunny and warm. The valley has gray winters, but sunny and warm summers.

[solsine]

Thanks much! I've done some research and Eugene does sound very promising for what we're looking for.

Would you recommend that above some of the areas surrounding Portland? They seem a little pricier cost of living from my research - but the one thing that's so hard to get a feel online for is the general vibe of each city.

[Silverfall]

Portland would fit the bill, but not sure I'd call it affordable. Portland is great. Love it there.

[Shorty77]

Portland sounds like your place, except "sunny and warm"...you will only have that during the summers in western Oregon...the rest of the year is drizzly to rainy and cloudy.

[Steve97415]

Given the criteria you've listed, it's easy to narrow down the list to just a few choices. Oregon doesn't have a lot of cities that are mid-sized and above. I agree with Portland, and Eugene is a good suggestion as well.

The entire West Coast has the precipitation pattern of a Mediterranean climate. That means lots of clouds and drizzle from mid-autumn to mid-spring (particularly on the northern half of the West Coast). The more miles (and mountain ranges) you put between you and the coast, the more sunny hours you'll get when days are short...but the trade-off is higher extremes of summer heat and winter cold. The Oregon coast is very retirement oriented, so you don't want that if you are young and need to work for a living.

[solsine]

Thanks very much for your suggestions ~ it really helps a lot. We're planning a visit within the next 6 months or so, to get a feel for things more personally. Since we're limited on both time and budget, it will help to narrow our travel search down to the cities that will be the best fit.